Dear Friends & Neighbors,
This week marked the House of Origin Cutoff in the legislature. Some great bills didn’t make it this time, but we know there’s always next year.
But we’re not here to dwell on what could have been. Instead, we’re celebrating our success. Here are some of my favorites moving over to the Senate.
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The Year of Housing 2.0
There is no better example of “there’s always next year” than Transit Oriented Development (HB 2106). I introduced a similar bill last year during my first session, and it didn’t survive cutoff. But I’m proud to say I continued the work and it’s now one third of the way to becoming law. This bill will increase our supply of affordable housing options and incentivize the growth of vibrant, mixed-use, mixed-income communities in our cities.
Additionally, my colleagues and I delivered on a major promise to the record number of Washingtonians spending more than half their income on rent. Our rent stabilization bill (HB 2114) will provide much need fairness and stability in Washington’s rental market.
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Building for our future
The future of Washington’s job market and economic health is dependent on 70% of our high school graduates achieving a post-secondary credential. We’re one step closer to that becoming reality thanks to my HB 2025 making it out of the House.
HB 2025 increases opportunities for college students receiving federal work-study funds to work as “near peer” college access advisors. Instead of earning work-study funds through working on campus, these students will get paid to work in their communities – either through nonprofits their university – to coach high school students in exploring their higher ed options, completing applications, and applying for financial aid.
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A safer Washington
As we continue to build a Washington that works for everyone, we need to ensure that workers and those in the vicinity of job sites are safe. It’s been almost 5 years since a construction crane collapsed and took 4 lives.
Sarah Pantip Wong, Alan Justad, Travis Corbet, and Andrew Yoder should still be here today. Finally, five years later something is being done to prevent tragedies like the one that took their lives from happening again.
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As always, it’s a pleasure to serve you in Olympia and My door is always open, or you can reach me by phone at (360) 786-7814 or by email. I also encourage you to follow me on Facebook for all the latest updates!
In service,
State Representative Julia Reed
36th Legislative District